Beast King
by R.N.Walker
Summary: Long ago, the humans waged war against the Beasts, wiping them out. Hundreds of years later, can three human children tame the spirit of an ancient Beast King and work together to save Domino City from impending doom?
1. Prologue

Night.

The dark forest rang with the restless growls of the gathered shadowed beasts. A battle was imminent, but it would not be between the ferocious beasts. Their sworn enemies were nearby, those humanoid beings that called themselves Warriors. Hah! The Beast-Warriors were eager to prove the true power and strength of those who bear the title 'Warrior'; all they needed now was the signal from their Master.

But where was he? The beasts were itching to fight, but they were loyal servants who wouldn't so much as raise a claw until the given command.

There was movement from a tree above, and the Beast-Warriors gave a howl of triumph. The Master was here; they would claim victory over this battle.

He, the Master, smirked. Tonight was the night. So what if he had the appearance of a child. So what if all he wore were faded, shredded shorts and an equally ravaged red sash over his shoulder. So what if he lacked claws or fangs or any other visible attacking appendage. He was King of the Beasts, and he was ready to lead them into battle.

The Beast-Warriors surged forward, and their allied Winged-Beasts took to the air.

The Master followed, leaping from tree to tree. He could smell smoke up ahead– of course the human Warriors felt safe around anything that gave off light and heat like their campfire. That was soon to be their undoing– his troops could attack from the dark depths of the shadows.

There was a loud, cacophonous roar and the Master knew his front line reached the camp.

He hid in the trees, watching his soldiers fight. The Human and Beast-Warriors were evenly matched. The Beasts had greater speed and strength, but the Humans had tough armor and nearly impenetrable defenses.

The two sides fought brutally but elegantly, every swipe of the claw or swing of the sword another stanza in this poetic drama called war.

As tantalizing as it was to continue watching the battle unfold, the King of the Beasts knew of a way to end this quickly. He just had to defeat the General, his life-long rival.

The Master searched the battlefield from the safety of the shadowy trees. Where could he be? He had ordered his Beast-Warriors to leave the General unharmed– he was his opponent and his opponent alone.

Finally, he spotted him.

The General, not too far from where he was hiding, was encouraging his men to keep fighting, his back towards him. Victory was for the Beasts.

With a roar to rival those of his soldiers, the King of the Beasts launched himself out of the trees, aiming for the General with his outstretched hands. The hunt was over– his prey was captured!

The General turned, pure shock and surprise in his sky-blue eyes. But there was nothing he could do as the Master flew closer and closer and–

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><p>Wow...it's not even the first chapter and I left a cliff-hanger. Sorry 'bout that; they won't be that often (unless you guys would like them to be).<p>

I think I'll be using this area as a sort of Fun Facts Corner; what do you think about that? Please give your opinions about that in the comments. And good news! The next chapter will be up really soon (hopefully today if nothing else comes up)!

Please leave nice comments and reviews! Positive criticism is highly appreciated. R. Out!


	2. A Close Rival, a Closer Friend

Chapter 1: A Close Rival, A Closer Friend

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><p>BREEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE!<p>

"Aaah!"

Itaki Kagawa bolted awake as his alarm clock's screeching siren brought him back to the realm of consciousness. Itaki reached for the snooze button, tumbling out of bed with a loud thump as he did so.

"You okay up there?" his mother called from downstairs just as he turned off the alarm.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Itaki answered.

"Well, breakfast will be ready soon. Go get ready."

Her son got himself off the floor and after making his bed browsed through his drawers to find something recreational to wear. He settled with a red t-shirt, khaki-colored shorts (the kind that go a little past the knees), and his sandals. After taking a quick shower and in vain try to neaten his messy brown hair, he dressed himself and rushed downstairs for something to eat.

"Do you have anything planned for today?" Itaki's mother asked him after he helped himself to a plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes (his mother was trying for an American breakfast this morning).

"Yep," he said happily, "First and foremost, Kai and I are going to have our rematch in the park."

His mom smiled. "Do you think you'll win this time?"

"I know I'll win," Itaki said confidently, "I had that dream last night. You know, the one where we're both our armies are fighting." Itaki always had that dream the night before he and Kai had a duel; it was a premonition of sorts. This time, it ended with him about to make the final blow instead of the other way around like last time.

Itaki's mom poured herself some tea. "I know you'll win too, my little Taki ('Taki' was Itaki's nickname; everyone's called him that since he was little even though it's hardly any different than his real name. But the name stuck and, secretly, he liked it a little more than his real name).

"Yeah," Taki replied, finishing the rest of his eggs and bacon. "After that, we're going to the museum. There's a new exhibit about warrior artifacts there that Kai's interested in." He gulped the last of his pancakes and put his plate in the sink.

His mom looked up. "Oh, do you need some money for the bus? You know Kai–"

"Don't worry mom; the park's not far from the museum. We'll walk." Then after checking the kitchen clock added, "Oh man, I'm going to be late!" He rushed out the door and raced towards the park.

He got there in only 10 minutes and noticed all the people simpy enjoying themselves: friends hanging out together, children running around, couples on dates.

For some reason, Taki loved coming here more than anywhere else. Maybe it was because of the lively, carefree atmosphere always surrounding the place. Or maybe because it was where he and Kai always dueled in private. Whatever the reason, he immersed himself into the jovial surroundings. He carefully made his way through the park, not wishing to intrude upon anyone.

As he came closer and closer toward the woodsy area of the park, he looked more and more over his shoulder, as if to make sure no one was following him. When he reached the bushes, he gave one last scan of the area then hurried through.

He went some ways off the beaten path before he came to a small clearing. It was maybe a little more than 3 meters in diameter. Near the center was a small body of crystal clear water. It was neither big nor deep; probably the same dimensions as the bowl of a large bird bath. The forest oasis was completely surrounded and hidden by the trees and bushes. As of now, only three people knew of its existence.

"About time you showed up," a voice said out loud. Taki glanced up at a silvery-haired boy sitting back against the only tree that stuck out from the forestry circumference and was actually in the clearing. He was wiping his glasses with the end of his neat, white flannel shirt. He was also wearing blue pants with white streaks running down both sides.

"You know a battle is not a battle unless there are two sides present."

Taki grinned. "Sorry to keep you waiting General Kai."

Kai smirked, putting his glasses back on. "Shall we commence, Beast Master Taki?"

Both duelists whipped out there decks.

_Taki's Life Points: 4000_

_Kai's Life Points: 4000_

Taki and Kai drew five cards.

"I'll go first," Taki said, and he drew his sixth card. In his hand he had Gladiator Beast Andal, Gladiator Beast Laquari, Threatening Roar, Nin-Ken Dog, Howl of the Wild, and Exarion Universe. He couldn't help but grin.

"No offense but you don't stand a chance; I got a good hand." Taki felt even more confident when he saw a scowl etched upon Kai's face.

"Luck is not with me today. But I won't quit no matter how bad this seems."

"Bet you'll lose in two turns."

"Bet it'll take longer."

"We'll see," Taki commenced the duel, "I'll put two cards face-down and summon Gladiator Beast Andal (1900/1500) in attack mode. Your move."

Kai drew. "Alright, he'll do. I place one card face-down and summon Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak (2000/200) in attack mode. Now my Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak will attack your Gladiator Beast Andal."

"Not so fast," Taki flipped over one of his face-down cards. "I activate the trap Threatening Roar. Sorry, but you can't attack for the rest of the turn."

The silver-haired boy growled, already acknowledging the duel was not in his favor even with Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak. "I place another card face-down, and to satisfy my monster's effect I'll show you Total Defense Shogun."

Taki glanced at Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500) and mentally sighed with relief. Total Defense Shogun's effect would have allowed Kai to attack and defend at the same time. Fortunately, it was too high a monster to summon. Taki made a mental note to make sure Kai couldn't keep any monsters on the field long enough to summon it.

"Alright, my turn. I draw. First, I'll summon Nin-Ken Dog (1800/1000) in attack mode. Then, I'll sacrifice my Gladiator Beast Andal to summon Gravity Behemoth (2300/2000) and have it attack your Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak. That's 300 damage to your Life Points."

"Not if I activate my trap Ready For Interception. This card allows me to switch any face-up Warrior or Spellcaster-type monster into face-down defense position. I'll use it on my Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak to protect my Life Points."

"Sorry, but you're still going to take damage." Taki said confidently.

"Why"

"Because I activate the trap card Howl of the Wild. Whenever one of my monsters destroys your monster, you lose 300 Life Points for every Beast-type monster I have on the field."

Kai growled again as he sent his monster to the Graveyard.

_Taki's Life Points: 4000_

_Kai's Life Points: 3700_

"And since you have no monsters on the field, my Nin-Ken Dog can attack you directly. I think I'll end my turn here."

_Taki's Life Points: 4000_

_Kai's Life Points: 1900_

Kai drew. "I summon Mechanicalchaser (1850/800) in attack mode. I'll then activate the spell Block Attack to switch your Gravity Behemoth to defense mode. Now my Mechanicalchaser will attack your Nin-Ken Dog."

_Taki's Life Points: 3950_

_Kai's Life Points: 1900_

Taki didn't really mind about the loss; he knew his friend was just stalling for time now. Well, it was time to end this surprisingly fast duel.

He drew.

"Okay, so it took three turns to beat you, big deal. I summon Sea Koala (100/1600) in attack mode. Its special ability lets me make the ATK of one of your monster 0 for one turn, and I'll use it on your Mechanicalchaser. I switch my Gravity Behemoth back into attack mode and attack Mechanicalchaser. And that's game!"

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><p><em>Fun Fact: The duel between Kai and Taki was supposed to be much longer and have its own chapter, but I felt that might be a bit much for me since this is my first time writing a duel, so I greatly shortened it. Don't worry, the next one will be longer.<em>

So what do you think? This is my first time writing a duel, so please tell me if I forgot anything or if I messed up the style or something (any comment will be great, honestly). Please leave a review. Thanks! R. out!


	3. Ancient Artifacts

Please enjoy!

Chapter Two: Ancient Artifacts

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><p>"Wow, I wasn't even close too winning." Kai grumbled.<p>

Taki laughed, though he was admittedly surprised by Kai's swift defeat. "Hehe, maybe next time. By the way, what does that make the total score to be?"

Kai pulled out a folded piece of paper and pencil from his pocket. "With your quick win, that ties up the score 9-9. Whoever wins the next match wins the contest."

"Unless we both get a draw, in which case this contest to see who's the better duelist will end in a tie. Again."

"That's true."

The two friends gathered up their cards.

"When should our rematch be?" Taki asked.

Kai shrugged."I'm sure we'll think of a time eventually."

After making sure no one was looking their way, the friends snuck out from their hiding spot and spent the rest of the morning relaxing in the park.

When it was a little past noon, Taki asked his friend if he was ready to head over to the museum. Kai said he was and they took their leave. To occupy their time during the 15 minute walk to the Domino City Museum, they talked about how cool it would be to actually duel the elite duelists, like Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba– to actually beat them. In the end, they only laughed at the absurdity of it. They, the elite duelists, wouldn't have time to play with middle-schoolers, even if they were in the ninth grade.

"Well, here we are," remarked Kai as he looked up at the marble architecture. By the door was a sign about the exhibit, which read "Special Exhibit! This summer only! The World's Arsenal: Weapons from Around the Globe".

The friends went inside and were instantly greeted by the cool air.

All around were showcases of old swords and rusted armor and timeworn weapons. Kai eagerly jumped to each display with excitement and couldn't contain himself from telling Taki all about the artifacts inside.

"That's a Medieval Arming Sword. It was used by European knights and Vikings during the 14th century. Oh, and that right there is a Kattari– an Indian dagger used in hand-to-hand combat. And the Bardiche is–"

"Okay, okay, genius. No need to brag about how smart you are. We're not in school, you know."

"Heh! And maybe if you studied more in school, you'd be a genius as well."

"Yawn. Books and tests are your kind of things. Give me a hammock and some video games and I'll be all set."

Kai shrugged then turned his attention back to the display, a serene look on his face. Taki figured out a long time ago that, like he was at the park, Kai was at peace in the museum. The tranquil atmosphere was welcoming for him.

The two spent quite some time browsing through the exhibition. Taki was not as interested in medieval swords as Kai was, but he still found the time hanging out with his best friend very enjoyable.

"To be able to go into battle," Kai spoke out loud longingly, "To feel the exhilaration, knowing the only thing between you and death was a steel sword and your own armor…"

"And of course your countless army of fearless beast-men who could defeat anyone in their way."

"Yeah right– my warriors would destroy you in an instant."

"Then why didn't ya'? Face it, your human warriors are no match for my beast soldiers."

"Oh, are you asking for that rematch now?"

"Are you boys having fun?" someone called out.

The two whirled around to see a young man with long black hair pulled into a ponytail and wearing a white dress shirt and grey pants, with a grey suit jacket hanging over his shoulder. He looked at the boys with surprisingly teal-colored eyes.

"Are you enjoying the exhibit?" the man asked.

Kai nodded. "It's great! I've never seen so many items that a warrior could bring into battle before. I'm–" he grinned sheepishly, "I'm really into warriors."

"The human kind, though," Taki added with a grin, "Personally, I like the Beast-Warriors."

The man looked a little confused. "'Human kind'?" he repeated, "And 'Beast-Warriors'?" Taki and Kai gave each other slightly bemused looks.

"He's talking about Duel Monsters," Kai clarified to the man, "There are two types of monsters called Warriors, which are typically human, and Beast-Warriors, which are typically based on animals. I've always played with my Warrior Deck and my friend here loves his Beast-Warriors Deck."

The man nodded as if he understood. "I see. And you two are friends even though you have rivaling decks?"

"Well, yeah," Taki said, "We've been rivals for as far back as we can remember, and best friends for just as long. Kinda like our decks: rivals but still warriors in the end."

"So were your decks inspired by the legend of the Beast King?" the man questioned.

Now it was Taki and Kai's turn to look stumped. The strange man smiled. "Then I would like to show you boys something. Please, come with me." He beckoned them to follow him down a side hallway.

"Ah," the man said suddenly, "Where are my manners? I am the contributor of this exhibit, Aaron Miyozuki, but please call me Aaron."

"Pleased to meet you Aaron. I'm Taki Kagawa and this is my friend Kai Fukushima. So you must like warriors and stuff too, right?"

"Indeed; like you two, I have a certain, ah, affinity towards what you call Warriors and Beast-Warriors. That's what my work focuses on anyways."

"Wait," interrupted Kai, "Beast-Warriors aren't real. They're just creatures in a card game."

"True now, but they were real thousands of years ago." Aaron stated.

The three reached his office and he led them inside. The walls in the room were covered with foreign spears and swords and maces but also with strange, exotic weapons and shields Taki had never seen before.

"I have never seen or heard of these weapons," Kai said in awe, "Where are they from?"

"These are the weapons and armor donned millennia ago by whom you call Beast-Warriors," Aaron explained. Figuring it best to leave such 'mythical' items alone, Taki instead faced the contributor.

"So what's the story of the Beast King?" His voice was full of excitement with a hint of innocent curiosity, just like a child's. Kai likewise was a little interested to hear this tall tale.

Aaron seated himself at this desk and leaned back in his chair. "The legend has no definite beginning," he said, "Because the civilization of the Beast-Warriors had existed alongside the civilization of man for countless generations. The two races rarely saw eye to eye, but they both knew they were too similar in beliefs and cultural ways to openly wage war on each other.

Just like us, they had homes and schools, marketplaces and festivals. They had their own written language, their own libraries, and even their own form of government. And despite their innate ferocious nature, the Beasts were a surprisingly gentle species and often kept peace with the humans through treaties. I imagine many of their rulers were about as insightful as King Solomon.

So the Beast-Warriors lived in secrecy, their city well-hidden in the depths of a jungle. It is said it was impossible for a human to find the city without the help of a Beast."

Aaron paused for a second, as if wondering to actually continue the story. "One day– somehow, someway– the humans discovered the location of the city and attacked it. It is not stated why they did. All that is stated is that Dvajrah, the last King of the Beasts, sacrificed himself to stop the humans. He fought valiantly until his very last breath. But his death was in vain, for the humans destroyed the great city along with all its people. Not a single Beast survived the onslaught. There was more to the story, but sadly the translation to the scrolls has been lost."

Aaron looked up to see the two boys looking down at the floor in silence.

"No way…" Taki muttered. "Why would the humans slaughter all those Beasts? I mean, if that story's true and all, didn't they have some sort of agreement to prevent that?"

"I agree," Kai added solemnly, "Normally I would side with the humans, but that was just…"

Both boys were quiet again.

"And you say that actually happened?"

"I'm afraid so Kai," uttered Aaron sadly.

Taki looked up at his friend. "This just gives me a new reason to beat you in our rematch," he said a little jokingly, "Revenge for the Beasts."

Kai managed to smirk at his friend's teasing. Then he looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set. "What? We've been at the museum all day!" He had a look of complete shock on his face; Taki had a mirror-like expression.

Aaron laughed. "Haha. I've heard that these artifacts are magical and can alter the flow of time. Who knows– maybe all these items in here sped up time. That would explain why I always seemed to leave here later than everyone else."

He stood up and made his way to a small black safe near his desk that the boys had somehow missed earlier. Aaron put in a combination. "I have something for you Taki, since you seemed so interested in the story and particularly in Beasts," Aaron said. "I think you'll like it."

There was an audible click and Aaron opened the safe door. He stuck his hand in and pulled out a shiny object. It was a medallion of some sorts, gold with a jade-colored jewel in the middle. But this apparently was not what Aaron was going to give him as he pulled the jewel open to revel that it was really a hollow locket. Inside the locket was a smooth, brownish-yellow fang with some string tied at the wide end.

Aaron dumped the fang necklace into his hand and handed it to Taki.

"What is it?" Taki asked him, a little puzzled.

"It's said to be the fang of Dvajrah." Aaron answered, oddly serious. "I've had this necklace for a very long time, but I have never put it on display for anyone to see it. I would like for you to have it. You seem able to find much more use for it than I would. And think of it as a parting gift."

Taki accepted the gift more out of obligation than anything else. The fang was very peculiar– despite how old Aaron claimed the fang to be, its regal appearance and smooth texture made it seem like it was just found today. And it almost felt like the necklace was giving off a minute aura of pure ferocity and raw anger. Taki merely shook the feeling off; he was clearly imagining things, right?

"Thanks," he said happily. Then on an impulse, he put the necklace on. He thought he looked pretty neat with the fang of Dvajrah dangling over his chest.

"Looks good on you." Kai commented.

_Wow, so this is the legendary fang of the Beast King. It's magnificent. It feels like it's alive– like I'm alive!_ Taki smiled sheepishly at the thought, but his grin quickly changed into a look of horror as the fang seemed to melt right through his shirt and skin.

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><p><em>Fun Fact: I actually looked up every one of the weapons, plus many more, Kai points out; in fact, Kai barely covers the basics of what those weapons are. But believe me, I'm not as enthusiastic about them as he is.<em>

So what do you think so far? If anything is confusing, please let me know. Also, you may have noticed I spelled Yugi's last name as 'Moto' and not the conventional 'Mutou'. Truth is, I'm really only accustomed to the English anime adaption (I've only read a few chapters from the manga) so aside from on FanFiction I'm used to seeing his name spelled this way. Sorry, I'm not changing it.

Reviews would be nice! They'll tell me if people are actually interested in the story and how often I will need to update as well as improvements I need to make. Easy on the flames. R. out!


	4. Midnight Hunting

I can't believe I forgot the disclaimers! I do not own anything in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise except the characters I made.

Chapter 3: Midnight Hunting

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><p>Taki was utterly speechless. His terrified brown eyes immediately looked up at Kai's equally scared sky-blue ones. The two started bombarding Aaron with questions.<p>

"What the heck just happened!"

"Where'd the necklace go?"

"Is that thing cursed?"

"What's going to happen?"

"Will Taki be alright?"

Aaron stuttered, "I-I didn't know that was going to happen, I swear! I've put the necklace on myself numerous times and nothing like that ever happened!"

The contributor's confession was not at all comforting to Taki. Forgetting all sense of dignity, he pulled off his shirt to examine his chest. On the spot where the fang should be resting was a tribal marking of the fang. The mark was pitch-black with a few weird flame-like designs around it. It looked like a tattoo, which was the last thing Taki needed.

"My mom's gonna' freak if she sees this!" he cried. _I wish it was gone!_ Almost instantly, the mark slowly but sure began to fade away.

Kai stared at Taki's chest as if what he saw was an illusion. "Did you somehow do that?"

"I think so." Taki murmured. _Only one way to find out._ "I…Let me see the mark again." he said in a clear voice.

On cue, the mark reappeared on his chest. _Okay, so this is cool._

"I don't know what to tell you boys." Aaron's voice was completely apologetic.

"I guess…since nothing is happening to me right now, there's not much we should worry about." Taki replied slowly, pulling his shirt back on. The rope of the necklace was lying on the floor, as it was when Taki took off his shirt.

Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card. "This is my business card with my personal phone number at the bottom. Call me if something happens." Taki took the card and Aaron ushered the boys to the front door.

"Now please boys, you must not tell anyone of the necklace," Aaron warned, "Let's just say it would be very bad for my credentials if word got around that I let two boys just walk off with a priceless artifact."

"But you gave it to us," Taki blurted out.

"True, but others might not see it that way. There is a reason why I never put it on display."

The three waved their farewell, and Taki and Kai started their walk home through the cool night. The streets were quiet and empty.

"What a day!" Taki said breathlessly, "And to think, all I had was breakfast today. Hah, when I get home, I'm going to be starving."

Kai couldn't take his eyes away from Taki. "You sure you're okay?" He inquired. Taki nodded, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"I'm fine, relax. This just means you're gonna' have to treat me with more respect 'cause I'm the Beast King now."

"Heh, as if! You may have some old fossil inside of you, but you're still idiot Taki to me."

"Who are you calling an idiot? I beat you in three moves, remember? Three!"

"Lucky shot. I'm winning our final duel you know."

"No, you're–" He heard a noise coming from the alley behind them. The duo whirled around to see a shadowy figure step out.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here." Taki recognized that voice. It was Dylan Colegale, a tenth grader from the local high school. He and his gang loved to pick on the younger middle-schoolers. Taki instinctively placed himself between the intruder and Kai.

"I'll distract him while you make a run for it," he whispered.

"Don't even try," Dylan laughed, "You're surrounded." Indeed, the rest of Dylan's posse had appeared from seemingly nowhere and formed a circle around the two boys. If it was down to a fight, six against two wasn't remotely fair.

"You twerps seem to be out late," Dylan taunted, "Where're ya' headin'? Back home to yer mommies?" The rest of the group snickered at their boss's taunting.

Taki was scanning the circle, trying to find an escape route. He shot a quick glance at Kai. The boy would appear calm and collected if he had to, but if a fight proved too much for him to handle…

"Get them!" Dylan suddenly ordered. The group swarmed, and before Taki could do anything, the delinquents pulled Kai away, separating the two.

"Kai!" Taki shouted, and he tried to run after his friend, but a gang member blocked his path.

"You'll have to pass through me if ya' want to get to 'im," he sneered.

Taki glared at the adolescent. Behind him was Kai, his hands pulled behind him by another gang member. The rest of the boys crowded around Dylan.

Taki's opponent flung himself at him. Taki barely missed the punch and swung one of his own. It connected, but unfortunately it came from an angle that didn't do much damage to the delinquent. In return, the boy gave a side kick at Taki's leg, making the latter stumble.

"Do I hear any wagers?" Taki heard Dylan's voice cry out, "I'm betting he will fall first." Taki couldn't bother to see which 'he' he was referring to; he was too busy dodging punches and kicks.

"Taki! No, stop this now! Taki!" Taki could hear Kai shouting, but the gang just ignored him. He had to end this soon. Too bad his opponent had other things in mind.

The brawl felt like hours to Taki, but it mustn't have been more than two minutes.

"Hey! Let me go! Let. Me. Go!" Kai was fervently struggling against his captor. Dylan only gazed at him.

"I think you've played long enough," he said to his fighting henchman, "Time to get serious."

Taki barely braced himself for the onslaught of punches that followed. It was like being hit by stones over his face, chest, arms, and even a few to the legs. He tasted blood in his mouth. His ears were ringing, his world was spinning, and his vision blurry. He was only dimly surprised to still be standing.

"I think one more should do it."

"NO!"

Without warning, Taki's entire vision went white as the delinquent's uppercut connected with his jaw. Taki was sent sprawling to the ground.

"Taki! Ta…ki…"

Of all the things, it was that quiet whisper that shook Taki awake and forced him on his feet again. With blinding fury, he leaped at the thug, swinging his fist around. The punch to the side of the head knocked the surprised boy unconscious. Two other boys rushed forward to carry their fallen comrade away. Huffing, Taki collapsed to the ground on all fours– too exhausted with fatigue to move. He hardly registered Dylan clapping.

"Well, it seems I was right. He was the first to fall."

_What is he talking about?_ Taki thought, _I'm still..._

He looked at Kai with horrid realization. The boy was lying on the ground, not moving. Dylan nudged him with his foot.

"Like knocking two birds with one stone," he said. "That'll teach ya' to come through our turf again. Come on fellas'." He and his group turned to leave.

Slowly, Taki crawled toward Kai. He tried nudging him awake. "Hey. Hey Kai. Wake up. Come on buddy." The silvery-haired boy's eyes slowly opened.

"Taki?" he mumbled. "Taki, are you…? I'm so sorry…"

"This is nothing, and besides, you're okay," Taki tried to grim, but it hurt. Kai didn't respond.

Carefully, Taki lifted his friend onto his back. He was mentally surprised he still had enough strength to not only pick his friend up but to carry him down the road. The two were silent as Taki walked through town.

"It's all my fault."

Taki barely heard his friend's angry whisper. "It is not your fault, Kai."

"Yes, it is! If I wasn't–wasn't born with a weak heart, I would have been able to help you. I could have helped fight those guys off! I wouldn't have fainted like that!"

"Hey! Don't get worked up again. You know physical and emotional stress isn't good for you."

Kai scowled, but he complained no further.

"Forget him, Kai. Dylan's nothing more than a coward. He has to send his own goonies to beat me up. Some tough guy he is. Don't worry about it. Besides, I'll soon have my revenge." He muttered the last bit so Kai didn't hear him.

Taki was surprised at himself. His revenge? Where did that come from? And where did that sudden flash of anger come from? Taki was preoccupied by his sudden outburst that he didn't realize he was already standing at Kai's house.

"Uh, Taki? You can put me down now."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Kai. Here…" Kai walked to his front door.

"Want to come inside? My mom could fix you up, and you could spend the night."

"No thanks. My mom's probably worried about me right now. I'll be fine."

Kai doubted the brown-haired boy, but he bade him goodnight and went inside. Taki hurried home, his house not too far from Kai's. When he got to his house, he managed to sneak through the front door but was busted on his way upstairs.

"Itaki Kagawa! Where have you been!"

Taki froze. "You see, Kai and I were having so much fun at the museum that we kind of lost track of time." He was determined not to turn around and show his mom the bruises on his face and arms. Nonetheless, he could feel her eyes glaring up at him.

"You better no be lying to me, young man."

"Honest! You can call Kai and ask him."

Taki's mom was silent for a moment then seemed to let it go. "Alright then, I believe you. You can go." Taki nimbly climbed the remaining steps, took a quick shower (to wash off the dirt and blood), put on his pajamas, and got into bed.

Taki felt miserable going to bed without eating something, but he would rather starve than be interrogated by his frantic mother if she ever spotted him all battered up. He musingly wondered how big a breakfast he was going to have tomorrow and reminded himself he was going to have to come up with an excuse for his mom in the morning. Finally, from lack of eating nearly all day and the brawl from earlier, Taki drifted into sleep.

It was around midnight when Taki began to twist and turn in his sleep. He fidgeted about as if suffering from a horrible nightmare. No one could see it, but the mark on his chest was clearly visible. "…Eat…" he muttered. "So…hungry…haven't…eaten…_for_ _so_ _long_." His eye suddenly flew open. No longer were they warm with a chocolate-brown iris but harsh and golden with slits, like a wild animal's. He deftly slipped out of bed, a long, thick, black tail slithering after him.

Taki looked up at the moonlight and grinned, the moonlight gleaming off of his sharpened teeth and now elongated canines. An audible growl escaped his lips. He lifted the window up effortlessly, his claws leaving behind the tiniest of scratch marks. He sniffed the air and let the cool night air flow through his now pitch-black hair. That hungry smirk was still on his face.

This was not the Taki everyone knew and loved; this was someone–something–else entirely. With graceful skill like a cat, he jumped from his bedroom window to the roof, to the wall, then finally to the street below.

And with startling speed, he bolted on his hands and feet down the dark street.

* * *

><p><em>Fun Fact: Taki and Dylan were originally supposed to duel each other in this chapter, but I took it out. I replaced it with the brawl instead since I needed a way to tie in Kai's condition (and I feel I did a bad job doing that as well).<em>

It may just be me but I feel like I'm missing something (which isn't good since I'm the author). Oh well. Next chapter is a duel- and thus, a pretty long chapter. Until next time, please leave a review. Always looking out for those! R. out!


	5. Duel: Dylan VS Taki?

This chapter is the first real duel. Also, I would like to say that there might be some people out there who don't like reading duels (me included; I only like writing them), so I'll try to update faster after chapters with major duels (as indicated by the chapter title) so for those interested in just the story don't have to wait too long. Please note, though - some duel chapters may have important plot events, so skipping them might result in getting lost later.

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh!** (other than my OCs and a few trading cards).

* * *

><p>This creature, the one that looked like Taki, sped down the empty roads. This area was too poor a place to hunt. All those strange caves with too many windows to look through– he would be spotted in an instant. And these metallic, leafless trees with glowing orbs at the end were far from helping conceal him. Growling to himself, he raced toward the only ideal hunting ground that he could think of.<p>

When he arrived at the park, he noticed it wasn't as crowded as it was earlier. But of course most of his prey had returned to their dens for the night. Still, he was hungry and with any luck their might still be some wandering game. Like a squirrel, the creature glided up the nearest tree and hid in the leaves. He then leaped from tree to tree, making as much noise as if a small gust blew by. Halfway through the park he stopped suddenly.

Voices!

Crouching low he quietly stalked his way closer to the edge of the branch. He peered past the leaves and saw three humans talking.

"I tell ya' I gotta' be getting' home. Parents and all." one of the humans said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you two later." said another.

The Taki look-alike was internally pleased as he observed two of the humans walking away. The third human was now alone and defenseless. He kicked a can, chuckling apparently at whatever amusement it brought. The creature growled deeply. The boy instinctively flinched.

"Who's there?" he shouted, turning, "Show yourself!"

The growling stopped.

"M-Must have been some stray animal or sometin'." he muttered, continued walking, then twirled back around when the growling started again. "W-What is this! Y-Y-You don't know who you're m-messing with!" the lone boy stammered. "When I find you, I'm gonna' s-send my boys to c-come after you." Silence again. This time it was a laugh that came wafting from the shadows. The laugh wasn't normal; it was playful yet cold– mocking even, like the mysterious person was enjoying making the thug squirm because he knew he could be doing far worse.

"Are you scared Dylan?"

Dylan scanned the surroundings, now terrified beyond reason. "Do-Do-Do I know you? Who is it? Why don't you come out and fight me, you coward!"

"I'm the coward?" the voice growled.

"Heck yeah, if you won't even show yourself!" Dylan said with slightly more confidence than he really had.

"But Dylan– I am right in front of you."

"Huh!" Dylan squinted at the darkness, not being able to make out a single figure in the thick obscurity. It wasn't too long, however, when his gaze shifted upwards and he could just make out the glowing yellow eyes peering at him from atop the tree.

Dylan stumbled, losing his balance, and fell backwards. "Who…what are you?" His voice was full of fear.

"I am known as many things, but you, human, may call me the Beast King." Dark purple-black clouds began to materialize out of nowhere. Dylan looked around, dumbly confused at what was happening.

"Tell me Dylan, are you familiar with the game Duel Monsters?"

"Heh, I'm the best duelist in my gang; heck, maybe even my entire grade," the human smirked.

"Then I challenge you to a duel. If you win, I'll let you go and I promise I shall trouble you no more."

"Ha! That's it? You're on, but you're making a serious mistake Beast King. I'll wipe the floor with you." The eyes never wavered, but Dylan could have sworn the narrowed slightly with malicious glee.

A thick column of the strange ghastly cloud rose up, the top of it flattening out as it did. Inexplicably, the pillar's top morphed into undoubtedly a Duel Monsters' playing board, the twelve boxes color-coded correctly. Dylan pulled his deck out from his pocket and placed it on the board. He drew five cards.

"I'll go first," he said, picking up a sixth. "By the way, what happens if I lose?" There was no mistaking the Beast King's laughter, even if it did sound too much like the rumbling of an animal's growl.

"Then I get to feast upon your soul." Dylan didn't like the sound of that, but he commenced the duel anyways.

_Dylan's Life Points: 4000  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

"I'll start this off by playing this one card face-down" Dylan stated, and he indeed placed one monster in face-down defense position. The boy looked up. "Say, how are ya' ta' duel if you're up in the tree? Come down, lemme' see your face."

"I have my means," the Beast King muttered. He couldn't believe the boy's first move was putting a monster face-down with nothing to protect it. This was obviously a trap. But what fun are traps if they're never sprung? "I will set two face-down cards and summon Master & Expert (1200/1000) in attack mode."

Dylan was about to make a smart comment about him being too far away to actually put any cards on the board when he noticed a dark cloud of the purple fog drifting over his opponent's side of the field. When it floated past, two cards where suddenly placed over the Spell & Trap zones. Not only that but two monsters– one that looked like a ninja cloaked in red and a dog-like creature with a mane and pointed fangs– were standing in one of the Monster zones.

"Woah, is this some weird hologram from the duel disk?" exclaimed Dylan.

"Now, Master & Expert, attack his face-down card." The two monsters charged at Dylan's face-down monster.

"I now activate the trap card Howl of the Wild. You will take 300 points of damage due to its effect."

_Dylan's Life Points: 3700  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

The dog-like creature reached Dylan's card and slashed at it. A little orange-and-black striped monster with three eyes suddenly appeared on Dylan's side of the field.

"Ha! You activated Sangan's (1000/600) effect. I get to search my deck for a monster with 1500 ATK or less in my deck and add it to my hand." The Beast King waited patiently as his opponent went through his deck and found his card.

"I end my turn," he said.

Dylan drew, a surge of confidence flowing through him. This "Beast King", or whoever he really is, fell for the simplest trick in the book: Never attack a face-down card so carelessly. Because of that, he was able to get the card he needed. "Now to get the show on the road. I'll place another card face-down and activate the spell Two-Man Cell Battle. At the end of each of our turns, we can special summon one level 4 or lower normal monster from our hand to the field. I'll end my turn by summoning Charcoal Inpachi (100/2100) in defense mode." What looked like a burnt doll made entirely of wood sat resting on Dylan's field.

Dylan momentarily wondered if his opponent even had a hand or knew what was in it when said person declared "I'll place one more card face-down and have Master & Expert attack you once again. I'll also activate Rush Recklessly from my hand to give my monster a 700 ATK boost. I doubt your face-down monster can withstand the attack." Again the beasts charged and again Dylan's reaped the benefits of his monster's effect, this time from Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200).

"Now I can search my deck for a monster with 1500 DEF or less and add that ta' my hand. Geez, you're not very bright, are ya'?"

"Perhaps, but you still take damage because of my trap card."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

_Dylan's Life Points: 3400  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

" 'Kay, my turn again. As I tell my boys, I think it's time to stop playing around. I summon Inpachi (1600/1900) in attack mode." Another wooden doll appeared looking exactly like Charcoal Inpachi but not burnt. It stood towering over Master & Expert.

"I'll then tribute my Charcoal Inpachi to summon Woodborg Inpachi (500/2500) in defense mode." A metallic-version of the monster took Charcoal Inpachi's place. Dylan smirked. "It seems the effects of your Rush Recklessly wore off. Too bad for you 'cause now Inpachi can destroy ya' Monster & Freak. Go Inpachi!" Inpachi came charging at the monster duo, ready to slam them with its giant fist.

"Seems you're a bit of a brash one as well," the voice growled from the shadows, "You triggered my trap Skill Successor, giving my monster an extra 400 ATK."

"Wait, but that means both of our monsters are destroyed!" And as he said that, both monsters exploded into a shower of golden sparks. The eyes gleamed.

"It seems you're not as stupid as you look."

As expected, that irked Dylan immensely. "Shut up if ya' know what's good for ya'!" He summoned a monster onto the field due to his card's effect. "It seems you're the stupid one; you destroyed one monster to let me summon a more powerful one. Meet Blazing Inpachi (1850/0). You're lucky it can't attack right now."

The golden eyes had a look of boredom in them. "Am I supposed to be afraid of that piece of firewood? Humans are too dependant on fire, on light. Darkness shall swallow that flame of yours. Observe, I summon Panther Warrior (2000/1600) and use the spell card Stray Lambs."

Again, fog drifted past the Beast King's field. Again, when it lifted, a monster stood. It was a large bipedal, pitch-black panther wearing armor and wielding a large sword. He growled menacingly at Dylan. Beside him were two cute lambs, one red one blue. Unlike their partner, they smiled happily at their opponent.

"I'll sacrifice one of my Lamb Tokens to allow Panther Warrior to attack Blazing Inpachi." The blue lamb dissolved into a cloud of gold sparkles, which then rained down on Panther Warrior. For a moment, the Beast-Warrior closed its eyes, as if mourning the loss of a comrade. Then, eyes snapping open, he leaped at the burning doll, his sword reflecting the light bouncing off of it.

_Dylan's Life Points: 2950  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

"Your turn, Dylan."

"Finally!" the boy said, drawing a card. "You'll regret destroying my monster. First, I play Dark Factory of Mass Production to bring Inpachi and Blazing Inpachi back from the Graveyard to my hand. Next, I'll play Machine Duplication." Two more Woodborg Inpachis appeared on the field. "Then I'll summon the Blazing Inpachi I brought back from the grave, and I'll equip Fighting Spirit to it. It gets a 600 ATK boost." Blazing Inpachi's flames intensified as the monster roared in confidence.

"Now my Blazing Inpachi, attack Panther Warrior!"

"Once again you triggered my trap," the Beast King roared, though for some reason there was a hint of anger in his cry, "Horn of the Phantom Beast. My Panther Warrior gains 800 ATK points." A pair of antlers appeared on Panther Warriors head.

It was too late to call off the attack, but Dylan didn't let that deter him. "I'll activate Fighting Spirit's second effect. By sending it to the Graveyard, I can keep Blazing Inpachi."

_Dylan's Life Points: 2600  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

"I'll set one card face-down and special summon Inpachi in attack mode. Your turn."

"I'll sacrifice my second Lamb to let Panther Warrior attack your Blazing Inpachi. Go my faithful warrior!" Panther Warrior slammed into the flaming doll with his massive horns, destroying it instantly.

_Dylan's Life Points: 1650  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

"And thanks to the Horn's second effect, I can draw 1 card each time Panther Warrior destroys your monster." He paused. "I'll summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000)." A large, muscular bull standing on two hooves, wearing red armor, and carrying a huge ax stomped out from the purple fog. "Battle Ox, attack his Inpachi." The large bull slashed Inpachi in half with his ax.

_Dylan's Life Points: 1550  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

"And thanks to your Two-Man Cell Battle card, I can summon Sonic Duck from my hand."

"Not if I activate Slime Ball. Thanks to this trap card not only is your monster destroyed but I gain Life Points equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster."

_Dylan's Life Points: 3250  
>Beast King's Life Points: 4000<em>

Dylan could hear the Beast King's growls. "I end my turn," he muttered grudgingly.

Dylan smirked again. "Who's the stupid one now? I'll sacrifice two of my Woodborg Inpachis to summon Ambitious Gofer (2400/100) and Cyber Ogre (1900/1200)." A large red floating head and a metallic dragon-like creature appeared. Suddenly, two yellow beams shot out from Ambitious Gofer's cranium and surrounded Panther Warrior and Enraged Battle Ox. "Thanks to Ambitious Gofer's special ability, unless you show me a monster card from your hand, I get to destroy two of your monsters."

Dylan was surprised that his opponent didn't seem upset about proposition. "Very well," he said instead. The clouds floated by and a card was seen floating in midair. "This is my Ancient One of the Deep Forest (1800/1900). I believe he satisfies your monster's effect."

Dylan grumbled something in agreement. "I'll place one card face-down and have Ambitious Gofer destroy your Battle Ox." A yellow lightning bolt zapped Enraged Battle Ox. The Beast-Warrior shrieked in pain before exploding in a flash of glittering lights. "Heh, I'll end my turn with that."

_Dylan's Life Points: 3250  
>Beast King's Life Points: 3300<em>

There was a noticeable spark in the Beast King's eyes now. "Well, I see you can fight back. In that case, I use the spell card Scapegoat. This time, I'll get four Sheep Tokens, and I'll use one of them to let Panther Warrior attack your Ambitious Gofer."

"Not so fast! I activate Shift."

Before Panther Warrior could slam his target, Ambitious Gofer shot a beam at the remaining Woodborg Inpachi and brought it forward, using it as a shield. "I change the target of your attack to another of my monsters."

_Dylan's Life Points:2350  
>Beast King's Life Points: 3300<em>

"Well played," the shadowed player said. "I'll play the continuous spell Spiritual Forest and end my turn."

Dylan didn't bother to care what spell cards his opponent played; he knew he was going to win this. "I'll activate Ambitious Gofer's special ability again on your panther and goat."

"Have you forgotten that I still hold Ancient One in my hand?" the Beast King jeered.

Dylan gritted his teeth; he had actually forgotten about that. "Fine, forget that. I'll just have Ambitious Gofer attack your Scapegoat." The floating head shock a bolt of energy at one of the goats, causing a mini explosion full of smoke. But when the smoke cleared, the goat was still standing. "What the heck!" Dylan cried. Did his attack miss? Was that even possible? "Grr! Cyber Ogre, kill that little fluff ball!"

The machine monster skewered the sheep with one of his claws, obliterating it. "There we go!" Dylan laughed. He placed one card face-down in the Spell & Trap zone.

The Beast King started his turn by stating, "I'll sacrifice one of my Sheep to let Panther Warrior attack. Wipe out his Ambitious Gofer."

Dylan grinned evilly. "Like I said, you don't seem to learn anything. I'll activate my other Shift, so now you'll have to attack Cyber Ogre." This time, the dragon stepped forward to take the blow. "Then, I'll activate Cyber Ogre's effect. By discarding another Cyber Ogre in my hand to the Graveyard, my Cyber Ogre on the field gains 2000 ATK points, more than enough to take down your Panther Warrior."

The eyes narrowed. "I activate Skill Successor's effect."

Dylan blinked. "Wha'? That's…that's the trap card you used earlier, ain't it? Did you forget you can't use trap cards that are in the Graveyard?"

"Except Skill Successor has a special secondary effect. While it's in the Graveyard and it is my turn, my monster gains an extra 800 ATK points."

Dylan's face scrunched up as he did some math in his head. "But you still don't have enough ATK points to destroy Cyber Ogre. Ha! That was stupid!"

_Dylan's Life Points: 2350  
>Beast King's Life Points: 2600<em>

The Beast King's voice remained even. "I set one more card face-down and I'll special summon Prevent Rat (500/2000) in defense mode due to your card's effect." A green-and-blue mouse-like creature appeared curled-up from behind the fog. Dylan drew then glanced down at the field. All he had to do was get rid of the last goat, the rat,…and Panther Warrior!

"Hey, that thing should be destroyed!" Dylan cried in outrage, "How's he still here?"

There was a noticeable purr in the Beast King's next words. "It seems you overlooked one of my cards. Spiritual Forest prevents the first Beast or Beast-Warrior-type monster from being destroyed in battle. And as I stated when I played it, it's a continuous spell."

Dylan's eyes widened as he realized that this card basically made Panther Warrior invincible since he only had one monster able to defeat it.

"But I can still deal damage," he growled, "Cyber Ogre, attack Panther Warrior!" Said monster slashed at the Beast-Warrior, who took the attack head-on. The slash marks left behind by the attack slowly disappeared as blue orbs covered over the wound, healing Panther Warrior.

_Dylan's Life Points: 2350  
>Beast King's Life Points: 1500<em>

"Now I'll wipe out your last Scapegoat so you can't attack next turn." Ambitious Gofer began charging its attack.

"You triggered Threatening Roar. My token is safe from your attack."

Even Dylan jumped back startled as the cute little goat let loose a deafening and ferocious roar. Ambitious Gofer stopped its attack out of fright.

"I-I'll end m-my turn."

"Then that makes it mine. First, I use Monster Reborn to bring Enraged Battle Ox back from the Graveyard." The towering man-bull returned from the shadows, snorting with rage. "I'll then play Token Thanksgiving and gain 800 Life Points for every Token Monster on the field." The Sheep token dissolved into a cloud of sparkles again.

_Dylan's Life Points: 2350  
>Beast King's Life Points: 2300<em>

"I next sacrifice my Prevent Rat to summon Manticore of Darkness (2300/1000) to the field." A large, muscular, bipedal lion with eagle wings and a scorpion's tail leaped out of the shadows, its mane flowing majestically behind. It gave a roar rivaling that of the Sheep token's. "I then tribute my Enraged Battle Ox to let Panther Warrior attack your Ambitious Gofer once again." Battle Ox glanced at Panther Warrior, who in turn looked at him. They nodded in an unspoken agreement before Battle Ox disappeared in a cloud of golden sparks; but not before Battle Ox gave a menacing glare at Ambitious Gofer, as if he still remembered the attack done to him earlier.

"Go Panther Warrior!" This time, the attack connected with the intended target as Panther Warrior rammed his opponent into oblivion.

_Dylan's Life Points: 1950  
>Beast King's Life Points: 2300<em>

"And since your Cyber Ogre's effect is no longer active, Manticore, attack Cyber Ogre!"

As fast as a cheetah, the beast with mismatched body parts swiped at the dragon with its deadly claws.

_Dylan's Life Points: 1550  
>Beast King's Life Points: 2300<em>

Now Dylan really was shaking. His opponent had two powerful monsters on the field and he had none. He drew his card and smiled, though it looked forced.

"H-ha! I play Lightning Vortex. By discarding 1 card, I destroy all monsters on your side of the field. Haha!"

Lightning struck as the two monsters were electrocuted off the field.

"I then use my own monster reborn and bring back Blazing Inpachi. You're lucky, I'm in a good mood and don't want to end this just yet. I want to see you squirm so next time you'll think twice about picking a duel with me. Inpachi, attack him directly." The flaming doll sent flames flying toward the shadows where the Beast King hid. Dylan smiled as he heard his opponent grunt from the attack.

_Dylan's Life Points: 1550  
>Beast King's Life Points: 450<em>

The Beast King glared at Dylan, an intense fire in his cat eyes. "You will regret not finishing me off," he growled so menacingly Dylan took a step away from the board. "You, your kind, you're all the same. Enjoying seeing us suffer so you can make a point. I hate every last one of you for that."

The eyes glared at the board. "By discarding Ancient One of the Deep Forest to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Manticore of Darkness."

Dylan gulped.

"That was your final move." The Beast King roared, "Now I summon Wolf Axwielder (1650/1000) in attack mode." What looked like a man with a wolf's head stepped out of the shadows. "Manticore of Darkness, destroy Blazing Inpachi!"

The standing lion flapped its enormous black wings, blowing the flames out. What was left was a pile of ash that soon crumbled away into nothingness.

_Dylan's Life Points: 1100  
>Beast King's Life Points: 450<em>

"You're soul is mine. Axwielder, finish this duel. Attack the human directly!" The monster launched himself at Dylan. He raised his long ax and smacked Dylan with the side of his ax to the side of his face.

_Dylan's Life Points: 0  
>Beast King's Life Points: 450<em>

"I win."

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><p><em>Fun Fact: I would have thought writing the duel was the hardest part, but surprisingly I found the conversation between the duelist to be the more difficult. If you write duels (and even if you don't), which do you think is harder?<em>

Wow, that duel was a lot longer than I thought it was (seemed pretty quick written down). You know the drill: What needs work? Was I unclear in some parts? Was the writing style confusing? Was the duel too long? Any advice/criticism would be greatly appreciated. And as I said before, the next update will be soon. R. out!


	6. Amnesia

I'm getting really tired of this...and I keep forgetting to do it!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh in any shape or form** (and in some ways glad I don't)

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><p>Dylan collapsed to the ground unconscious, his cards scattering all around him.<p>

When he was certain the boy couldn't see him, the Taki look-alike stepped out from the shadows. Any moment now his prey would – ah! There it was! A strange white-blue misty aura surrounded Dylan's body. The vapor-like energy began to converge some inches away from the body and took the form of a large glowing white fawn.

"So that's your true self," the Beast King mused, "A timid person who dreams of power and being in charge of others one day."

Then he leaped at the Soul Creature before the poor thing could even react from being forced out of its body. The Beast King knocked it to the ground and lunged his head forward. He snapped at the Soul Creature with his sharp teeth. But whenever he bit into it, the "bitten" part would just waver away, like when a hand goes through mist. The surrounding vapor would then fold into the "wound", but with each regeneration the deer-like Soul Creature shrunk.

The feasting went on this way until the Soul Creature was no bigger than a housecat.

The Beast King was greatly pleased. At long last his hunger was nearly satiated. Only a few more bites then–

_Wait! What am I doing! _

He stared at his hands. _Claws? Since when did I have claws?_

He didn't notice the weakened Soul Creature struggle back toward its lying body and disperse back inside. Likewise, the purplish clouds dissolved back into nothing and the nighttime park could be seen again.

He looked around. _Is this some sort of bad dream? Yeah…yeah that must be it._ He staggered to his feet and ran (on two this time) back through the city. Tears were streaming down his face.

_I can't believe I just– What was I–? I almost hurt– What happened to–?_ So many incomplete thoughts flowed through his head.

What seemed like no time at all, he reached his house. But he couldn't just walk in through the front door.

_How can– oh, right, the window!_

He climbed up the wall, jumped onto the roof, and clambered through his bedroom window, closing it behind him. He slipped under the blankets and laid his head down on the pillow. Within moments, he was asleep.

Morning came too soon for Taki. After turning off his alarm clock, he got himself ready for school. White shirt, blue jacket, blue pants– nearly the same uniform as the high school. After looking in the mirror, Taki was not surprised to find all his scrapes and bruises gone; not a single mark was on him.

His lack of shock was due to the fact he didn't remember anything that happened last night. Not the duel, not Dylan, the claws, or the Soul Creature – nothing. He soon headed downstairs. His breakfast, though larger than normal, wasn't as big as he predicted it would be.

"You okay, honey?" his mother asked him.

"Uh, yeah, it's just…I'd thought I'd be more hungry than this."

"Why's that?" she asked, confused. Taki gave a small smile.

"Oh, no reason. I'd better head to school now. See you this afternoon."

The first thing Taki saw when he walked into the classroom was a group of students huddled together. They were deep in conversation, and Taki couldn't help but think of them as schoolgirls gossiping. "What's going on?" he asked no one in particular.

"Didn't you hear what happened?" Taki looked to his left to see Kai sitting at his desk.

"No. What?" questioned Taki, taking his seat behind his friend.

"Dylan Colegale was found this morning unconscious in the park. A jogger spotted him passed out near some trees and called the police. Word is he was sent to the hospital, babbling nonsense or something of the like."

"What kind of nonsense?"

"Something about a guy with glowing eyes asking him to duel. Sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

"How'd you find out?"

"One of the students got word of it when he went to see his older brother off to school. Apparently Dylan's gang members are spreading the word that they're going to find the person who did this and make them pay."

Taki looked slightly distraught by the news but Kai smirked.

"Serves him right, you know. This probably wouldn't have happened if he left us alone last night. The guy must of seen the brawl from afar and wanted to teach Dylan a lesson."

"I guess so…" Somehow this was connected to the strange feeling Taki was having, but he couldn't say how or what the feeling was. All he could say was it was probably related to the strange dream he had last night, but he couldn't remember what that was either. But dreams weren't of huge concern to Taki, and the rest of the school day sailed by without further worry.

"Thanks again for letting me come over to your house." Taki said. School was over, and he and Kai were walking to his house to study.

"No problem. You probably need all the help you can get on your math homework anyways."

"You got that right." Of course the 'help' was Kai attempting to teach Taki a math problem, Taki barely paying attention, him trying the problem without a clue how to solve it, and Kai telling him it was wrong.

This went on for a few hours. Eventually, it was time for Taki to head home.

"See you in the morning," Taki said as he headed out the door.

"Good night," Kai called out. He was mildly pleased – his teaching tonight wasn't a complete waste of time; Taki had eventually answered nearly half of the problems all by himself this time.

He went upstairs and got himself ready for bed. Right before he undressed though he realized Taki left his math book on the living room table. Not wanting to forget to return it to his friend the next day, Kai grabbed it, muttering but grinning about something about his best friend being too forgetful.

Up in his bedroom, Kai gazed out of his bedroom window. Though the stars were twinkling and there wasn't a soul to be seen, the night was relatively young (it was only about nine-o'-clock). Kai momentarily contemplated opening the window and enjoy the brisk air when he saw a sudden movement beneath him.

Kai blinked. The shadow was too big to be a cat but was awkwardly-shaped to be a dog. Wanting to get a better look, Kai threw his window open. Though the shadow was now too far to be seen clearly, there was no mistaking the clothes adorned on it.

"Taki?" Kai whispered, almost breathlessly.

A few minutes later, Kai was in the park. He had followed the shadow down the street. From there he ran down the roads he assumed the shadow would have taken to avoid detection. Huffing and shaking from fatigue and anxiety, Kai looked around. Had it not come this way? Where now?

"Wa-wait! Waaaah!" A cry pierced the sky, stimulating Kai. He followed the direction of the shout. Curiosity and fear, fortunately, didn't override his common sense. Kai was careful to hide himself behind some bushes and peered through.

Thank goodness he was too out of breath to yell out loud at the sight before him. Dylan's underlings were scattered about on the ground not moving. Though he couldn't be certain, Kai believed they were just unconscious. But what made him shudder was that in the center of it all was the shadow crouched over one of the boys. And in its clutches was a bluish-white substance. To Kai, it looked like a ghost…a rabbit ghost? Despite himself, Kai squeaked in fright. The shadow looked up, straight at Kai, and Kai was for the first time paralyzed with fear.

The face – it was Taki's! But his eyes…they were golden yellow, animal-like and full of shock…and hatred.

These were not the eyes of Taki; not kind, carefree Taki.

Kai was too stupefied to even realize Taki's hair was now midnight black, his nails sharp as claws, and a black tail lying limply at his feet.

For a whole minute the two stared at each other: Kai at Taki and Taki toward the bush. Kai was dimly aware that the ghost rabbit (or whatever it was) had disappeared, though to where who knew. Perhaps it fled.

Right as Kai considered doing the same, Taki leaped clear over the bush Kai was hiding behind. In a second, he dashed off and disappeared into the night. Kai was stunned, too stunned to do anything but clasp his chest where his heart was pounding rapidly.

"Grr-OOWWLLL!" Taki roared. So close! He had nearly finished devouring the Soul Creature when it too got away. This time because of someone else, whoever was hiding behind the bush.

He growled again. So close! And so hungry… He didn't even get the chance to eat one whole Soul Creature. And after dueling all four of them.

Tomorrow for sure…

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><p><em>(Miscellaneous) Fun Fact: I have absolutely no idea if Colegale is even a last name (I know I could always look it up, but I'm too lazy right now). Dylan's last name was going to be a Japanese name, but then it seemed weird that his first name was English, so I gave him an (what I thought) English last name instead.<em>

Wow, this chapter was...short. Hopefully the next one will be longer. Also, looking back on the previous chapter, Dylan summoned two monsters in one turn. That's against the rules, but as LK would say, "Screw the rules!" I'm too tired to go back and basically create an entirely new duel (It's past midnight right now). I'm leaving it as it is so that I can learn from my mistakes next time.

Reviews are always appreciated, as are criticism. Thanks! R. out!


	7. A Fiery Bird Appears

I do not own YuGiOh, only my characters. Please enjoy chapter 6!

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><p>Awaking to the bright new day, Taki yawned. For some reason he felt slightly fatigued, as if he just ran a marathon. Wanting to boost his energy he ate a rather large breakfast. And once again he ended up having to hurry to school.<p>

"Hey Kai," Taki called out as he entered homeroom. Kai was slouched over his desk, but when he heard Taki's voice he jumped and turned. Taki was surprised to see a look of pure fright flash onto his face. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing! Nothing…" Kai sure was jumpy today. "Um…do you…do you remember…what happened last night?"

Taki was confused. "I was at your house doing math homework with you–"

"I meant after you left my house."

Taki paused. "I…I went home and immediately went to bed 'cause I was tired. Come to think of it, I did have a restless night…what a nightmare…"

He had mumbled the last part but Kai picked up on it. "What kind of nightmare?"

"Um, well, I can't remember it all. Just trees, like those kind you find at, uh…"

"At the park?" Kai finished.

His friend grinned. "Now you mention it, yeah. How'd you know?"

"I, uh, had the same dream last night."

"Cool! Do you think it's another premonition about our next duel?"

Kai merely shrugged. It was obvious Taki was faking…or he honestly didn't remember what happened last night at all.

"And she gave us so much homework again," Taki was ranting about school as he and Kai walked home. Despite his cheery mood Taki couldn't help noticing his friend flash quick glances at him, as if analyzing him.

"So, Kai," Taki was beginning to get a little unnerved, "Can I stay at your place again? You know, math."

Kai faltered, uncertain what to say. "Y-yeah, of course. No problem."

Taki grinned. "Thanks! You know how much help I need with math and all."

"It's not just math you need improvement in," a voice rang out behind the two boys.

They looked around in unison. "Look who decided to show up," Kai grinned, his first true smile all day.

A girl with her fist on her hips was standing behind them. She wore a white t-shirt, one of those small black jean jacket vests, a red and black plaid skirt, tight black pants, and brown boots that didn't quite match the rest of her tomboyish look. The tips of her long blond hair were dyed electric pink. There was a smirk on her face, and her greenish-blue eyes had a hint of malicious glee in them.

"Hey Taki, don't let _Princess_ over there get to you. She's still upset from your last duel clearly." Kai said just loud enough for the girl to hear.

"Shut up General Geek," was the girl's immediate remark as she walked up to them. "Taki. You. Me. We duel. Now."

"Sorry Princess, but Taki and I have one more duel left to settle the score."

"What?" the girl blurted out, "You boys still haven't finished your little patty cake game? My gosh, are you boys amateurs or something?"

"Hey, hey," Taki said, trying to calm her down, "I'll duel you real soon Dove. How about next week?"

"How about now," Dove pulled her deck from her jacket pocket.

"Now? We're in the middle of the street!"

"Wuss!"

Despite himself, Taki felt a devilish grin creep upon his lips.

"Now, now, Dove. We agreed your duel was after our little tournament." Kai reminded her, "Once we're done then you can duel the winner, who will undoubtedly be me."

Dove rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. You may be a genius, but that doesn't mean you can duel."

"Oh, we'll see who can duel, _Princess_." The two were having a stare off, then all three burst into laughter. This was how the three usually greeted each other.

"Okay, but seriously, when will you two slowpokes be done with your thing? I'm ready to whip Taki's butt."

"Like I said, Princess, you'll just have to wait and see."

Dove growled. "Don't call me that, geek."

It wasn't that Kai and Dove disliked each other; on the contrary, the two, along with Taki, were extremely close friends. They've known each other since they were four and been together all the way up to the ninth grade. But now Dove attended a private school and the three friends didn't get to see each other as often. But like some friends, Kai and Dove loved to annoy each other, which is why he kept calling her 'Princess'. It was because she was a descendent of royalty but only through the blood of her grandmother's second cousin, so she was as much a real princess as Kai was a prince. Kai knew this, but still…

The three friends walked toward the park and, after making sure no one was looking, entered their secret sanctuary. They laid around the small watering hole and talked about their school lives. Though Kai continued to glance up at Taki from time to time, Taki knew it was less frequently, probably because he was too busy enjoying himself.

The time flew by and dusk was approaching. Taki and Kai got up to leave.

"Aren't you coming?" Taki asked when he noticed that Dove hadn't gotten up.

"Nah, not yet, I'm waiting to meet someone." Dove answered.

"Who?"

"Well, I want to see this shadow creature that's been stalking around the park for the last two nights."

Kai froze.

"Shadow creature?" Taki wondered.

"You hadn't heard? There've been reports about something running around in this park at night. And there are always victims when it comes, though so far nothing too serious." Then she added quietly, "Though 'victims' might be a bit of a stretch since it's so far only been members of Dylan's gang."

Taki felt as if he should have known this information. "What does the creature do to them?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Believe it or not, not much. After the victims came out of their mini comas, they recalled a strange duel. First, a dark fog shows up out of nowhere. Then, a pair of glowing eyes. And when you actually start to duel, the monsters and attacks seem too realistic to be holograms. Some of the girls at school wonder if it's a new kind of duel disk feature; you know, freak the opponent out." Her eyes showed she clearly had interest in this subject.

"I don't think you should duel him," Kai blurted out suddenly.

Dove scowled at him. "And why not? He's gotta' be a tough duelist if he can beat Dylan and his gang up like that. I figured while I wait for you two to finish up your…whatever it is, I can duel a real duelist."

"I'm serious Dove, don't do this. I–the creature–he's–" Kai looked flustered; he clearly wanted to say something very important but didn't quite know how to word it.

Dove cocked an eyebrow at his sudden and odd inability to speak. "Whatever. Look, let's just go home. I got homework to do." The three went their separate ways. An hour later, the park was empty.

At around eleven-o'-clock, a bush shook and out from it stepped Dove, now wearing a duel disk. She strolled toward the center of the park, the place rumored to where the shadow creature struck. "Hmph! He's not even here," Dove said in irritation, "What a waste of time."

With nothing better to do, she grabbed a small pebble and threw it toward the trees. The rustling it made when it struck a bush pleased Dove, so she grabbed another pebble and pitched it at the lamppost. The loud _thong_ it made sent a ringing sound throughout the park. It was almost melodious. Dove listened to the sound until it died down, then spun on her heels toward the direction of her home. At that moment, a pebble no bigger than the first one Dove threw came soaring out of nowhere. It streaked past Dove no more than an inch from her face and struck the lamppost behind her. Unlike the first _thong_, this one gave Dove an ominous feeling.

She turned toward the direction the rock was thrown. "Who's there?" she said, "You have some nerve for trying to pick a fight with me." She couldn't see anything in the trees, though she was certain the pebble came from there. "Show yourself Beast King, I'm not scared of you. In fact–" she activated her duel disk, "I'll duel you right now."

There was no overlooking the gleam of two yellow eyes near the top of the tree. "You are a foolish human," he growled, "But your spirit impresses me. Prepare yourself." And as the rumors stated, a dark purplish-black cloud appeared out of nowhere, forming a very large dome around Dove and the Beast King.

A dangerous grin was plastered on Dove's face, and though she couldn't see it there was an equally devilish one on the Beast King's as well.

"Duel!"

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><p>Okay, just getting this out of the way now (in place of a fun fact) - Dove has no romantic feelings for Taki or Kai (and vice versa). They are just friends, and I don't want them seen as anything more than that.<p> 


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